Development and evaluation of activation neutron detectors for spectrum measurements of quasi-monoenergetic high-energy neutron fields

A quasi-monoenergetic high-energy neutron field produced via 7Li(p,n) reaction consists of a high-energy peak and a continuum down to the low-energy region. The continuum is a background for the measurement for the peak neutrons. Spectral information is necessary to estimate the effect of it. Using a new beam chopping system, the spectral neutron fluence above ∼150 keV was measured by the TOF method. The lower-energy neutrons are time-independent and the unfolding method using the Bonner sphere spectrometer (BSS) is suitable to measure them. However, the common BSS with a 3He or BF3 proportional counter has difficulties in this case: signals caused by high-energy-charged particle are mixed in with the genuine signals caused by thermalized neutrons and the dead-time corrections are difficult in experiments with the pulsed-neutron beam. The gold foil is therefore adopted as a detector element for the BSS. Response matrix of the gold-activation BSS is evaluated by Monte Carlo calculations and response calibrations at a neutron standard facility of the AIST. Measurements for the quasi-monoenergetic high-energy neutron field was performed at the AVF cyclotron facility of TIARA, at the peak neutron energy of 45 MeV.